It's not easy to look orc good: You won't believe how long 'Bright' star Joel Edgerton endured in makeup

Netflix is making a blockbuster splash by debuting its most expensive film to date: Bright, a $90-million action film set in a world where humans and fantasy creatures coexist. Starring Will Smith as an LAPD cop and Joel Edgerton as his rookie orc partner, the film — directed by Suicide Squad’s David Ayer and co-starring Noomi Rapace, Edgar Ramírez, Lucy Fry, and Ike Barinholtz — is a truly out-there endeavor that has just been shortlisted for the Best Makeup prize at next year’s Academy Awards. Which is probably welcome news for Edgerton, given how much time he had to spend in the makeup chair getting ready for his role.

Edgerton credits an “incredible” team for bringing his character Nick to life, all via a process that required him to endure three hours of makeup work each day. Given the 60-day shoot, that means he dedicated more than a week of his entire life to having other people transform him into his mythological protagonist. The actor says that, after a while, he was checking off the days on his calendar until the shoot finished. Still, he admits that the development process was “not without its challenges, but [provided] an incredible freedom to get rid of all vanity.” Smith, meanwhile, confesses that he felt bad for his co-star — albeit not bad enough to switch places with him.

Bright is in select theaters and streaming on Netflix.

Watch Will Smith on why ‘Bright’ is different from his other cop roles: